Chapter 28: The Forbidden Forest

Ever since that night in the library when Zhang Qiu hurriedly said "I'm going out for a bit," Harry hadn't spoken a complete sentence to her for several days. She seemed to be busy with something and was always in a hurry. The original plan to have Zhang Qiu find a way to send Pei Xu away now had to be shelved for the time being.

After many things came to an end, Luo En's life returned to its former calm. Nawei was busy with something mysterious again, and the famous Gryffindor bookworm, Hemin, was now running around everywhere with him. Harry, on the other hand, was worried about Zhang Qiu while also worrying about the final exams, flipping through his textbooks with a sad face every day.

Seeing that his two little friends had no interest in playing chess, and learning that Harry had lent that set of Muggle magic books to Professor Binsi, Luo En could only borrow the *Gorky Trilogy* to pass the time.

"Hey Harry, sometimes I'm really wondering, what exactly is going on with their great cause, those beliefs?" One evening, Luo En was flipping through the Muggle struggle novel, curious to discuss the stories in these books with Harry.

"A world without oppression, without exploitation, where everyone is equal." Harry had studied the Su-edition literature, history, and philosophy under Teacher Yuri for three years, and his theoretical knowledge was not lacking. "Productivity is extremely abundant, private ownership is eliminated; they want to build a dreamlike world. That imagined world is so incredibly beautiful that I often suspect it's somewhat unrealistic."

"I still don't understand," Luo En said. "What is called oppression, and what is called exploitation?"

"You put in labor but don't get a return; that is exploitation. And oppression is when you want to do the right thing, but are strongly blocked by others," Harry explained.

"Then the ideal society absolutely cannot accommodate the existence of Sineipu," Luo En said indignantly. "Every time we answer a question correctly or make a potion, he doesn't give us points, and if we try to reason with him, we get points deducted."

Harry chuckled and said, "No, the oppression and exploitation we're talking about mainly occur in the production process. Workers cannot control the means of production, but they must produce to survive. They can only work for capitalists, and capitalists exploit the labor income of the workers through this."

"Then won't the workers resist?" Luo En asked, only realizing after the question that there was already an answer. "Oh, no wonder, so that's what their great cause refers to."

"Hey, imagine it, in the Wizarding World," Harry sat up and faced Luo En. "If everyone could live like they do at Hogwarts, eat whatever they want, learn whatever knowledge they want easily, and students are equal to students—no one is more noble than anyone else."

"That's nothing special; I really don't like going to class," Luo En said dismissively.

"You don't have to go to classes you don't like, and the school will never expel you," Harry continued. "You can choose freely: go to class, learn by yourself, or go play. All school rules are canceled, you can go night-wandering at night, you can go anywhere you want, do anything you want. This is the prototype of a communist society; a communist society is a society where everyone gets what they wish for."

"That's too wonderful," Luo En's eyes widened. "Do you think it's possible?"

"Because at Hogwarts, the ones responsible for labor and production are house-elves," Harry pointed downstairs. "I haven't seen anything like house-elves in the Muggle world. They realize their self-worth by serving humans; the tedious and hard work in our eyes is exactly what they want to do most. It can even be said that because house-elves exist, the Wizarding World might be able to build an ideal society earlier than the Muggle world."

"If the whole of England were a super-large, super-free Hogwarts, I'd live in my own home, eat whatever I want, and go play wherever I want," Luo En imagined. "No need to study, and no need to do housework."

"You could even study, and even do housework," Harry added. "If you're tired of playing, you can come to class or go to work at any time. When everyone clearly realizes what they need, many people will be willing to come to learn or work."

"That would be really great, Harry. Is it possible to achieve?" Luo En began to think about practical problems.

"Not very likely, but it's still easier than in the Muggle world," Harry said. "There are many things to consider, but if Deng Buliduo is willing, then many difficulties will be easily solved."

"Then we..." Luo En was somewhat eager to try.

"Don't rush, Luo En," Harry interrupted him. "We aren't at that age yet. The first step to transforming society is to transform oneself. Rather than trying to persuade Deng Buliduo now, I hope to become the second Deng Buliduo in the future."

"Alright, you're right. I should also read more books," Luo En said, putting down the novel and picking up his textbook.

Not long after, Harry heard soft snoring; Luo En had fallen asleep.

A trace of a smile appeared on Harry's face as he slowly slid into his quilt. He habitually reached under his pillow and felt a note.

"Lumos," Harry grabbed the wand at his side and identified the contents of the note.

"Come to the Forbidden Forest after everyone is fast asleep tonight. I'll be waiting for you by Haige's hut."

The signature was the only two square characters Harry recognized: Zhang Qiu.

He didn't suspect this was a conspiracy by anyone else, because only Zhang Qiu could write Chinese.

Harry extinguished the light at the tip of his wand and looked around. Except for a pair of bright cat eyes, everyone else was asleep.

Zhang Qiu specifically bolded the word "all" in "everyone." Harry hesitated for a moment, then waited a bit longer. Only after Pei Xu also curled up and stopped moving did he quietly put on the Invisibility Cloak and walk toward the Forbidden Forest.

Arriving at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, near Haige's hut, Harry carefully checked his surroundings and found that Zhang Qiu was sitting in the shadow by the wall. Haige's huge snoring served as a very good cover.

"You're here?" Harry noticed she was carrying a sword on her back. "What we're doing today is very simple: I want to show you something I found in the Forbidden Forest."

"I don't have many Disillusionment Charms left, and I can't make them myself," Zhang Qiu walked to Harry's side. "I have to save them. Let me squeeze under your cloak."

The two children hid under the same Invisibility Cloak and quietly walked into the dark forest.

Under Zhang Qiu's guidance, they took many turns and arrived at a small clearing in the woods. Harry was surprised to find a small tent here.

"Be careful," Zhang Qiu said. "There's someone inside, and he's not asleep yet."

"Who is he?" Harry instinctively felt something was wrong; this person shouldn't have appeared in the school.

"I'm not sure. I only know Pei Xu calls him William," Zhang Qiu said. "Pei Xu shouldn't have appeared in your life. I didn't think much of it at first, but my Master told me this is a conspiracy."

"Impossible." Harry said only one word before realizing his voice was too loud. He lowered his voice and said again, "If Pei Xu is a conspiracy, what does he want to do? I've never seen him do anything bad; he's always been a well-behaved little cat."

"Yeah, who would guard against a well-behaved little cat?" Zhang Qiu said with a bitter smile. "His mission is to approach you, collect any information about you, and then report it to others."

"No way!" Harry broke out in a cold sweat. He realized that his Invisibility Cloak had been seen by Pei Xu several times.

"I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

"Stop keeping me in suspense, just say it," Harry said eagerly.

"The good news is that Pei Xu has nothing to do with the mysterious person, and you don't have to worry about any of your secrets in the Wizarding World leaking, because he doesn't care," Zhang Qiu said. "But the bad news is that we talk about Muggle affairs unscrupulously in the Wizarding World, and these are exactly what Pei Xu cares about most."

"If he wasn't sent by the mysterious person, then who is he?"

"The White House," Zhang Qiu said. "They noticed Yanayev's little moves, so they specifically sent someone to collect intelligence."

"Yanayev's little moves?" Harry's head was full of questions, but Zhang Qiu suddenly signaled him to be quiet.

A silver tabby cat jumped down from a tree not far away. It patted the edge of the tent, and then a person crawled out from inside.

It was a man in a black robe with short black hair; he didn't look like a bad person.

He stuck his wand into the ground, and a faint circle of light swept across the surroundings. Harry held his breath, clutching his cloak nervously. But the light stopped a little bit in front of them, then retracted. The man didn't notice anything unusual and said in a low voice, "It's okay."

"I calculated it," Zhang Qiu said softly, her tone very proud.

The silver tabby cat quickly transformed into the appearance of a little boy. The man draped a robe over him. "Tell me, what's the emergency?"

"Contact headquarters immediately. I have important information to report," Pei Xu said.

Harry noticed that the child's tone was unnaturally cold, and all the "meow" suffixes were gone.

The man dragged a machine out of the tent, raised a high antenna, put on headphones, and began to turn the knobs on the machine.

"Hello, hello. Okay, I can hear you," the man said. "Codename William reporting to you."

"Yanayev wants to make a move on the Wizarding World," Pei Xu said. "According to previous investigations, it can be confirmed that Harry Potter is the next leader of the British Wizarding World. I clearly heard him spreading red ideas today."

"Damn it, is he ignoring the Statute of Secrecy?" William turned his head abruptly, looking at Pei Xu in shock.

"Harry Potter's intention is to build magical communism in the Wizarding World in the form of magic," Pei Xu's voice was still cold, without a trace of emotion. "Yanayev wants to split England into magical England and Muggle England; perhaps he is also preparing to split magical Europe and Muggle Europe." ===== CHAPTER 29 =====